Chaparral Energy LLC appointed John D. Wehrle as senior vice president of business development and finance, and David R. Winchester as senior vice president of drilling operations, the company said Sept. 22.

Most recently, Wehrle was a consultant for Apollo Global Management’s Natural Resources group. He also had been managing director and co-head of U.S. operations for Scotia Waterous, Chaparral said. Wehrle also worked, for nearly a decade, at Goldman Sachs & Co. (NYSE: GS) and RBC Dominion Securities. He also worked at Bill Barrett Corp. (NYSE: BBG) and Vantage Energy, the company noted.

"As we continued to grow and develop our extensive Midcontinent acreage and implement our long-term business strategy, we recognized a need within our organization for a team solely dedicated to evaluating potential corporate finance opportunities, as well as monitoring financial analysis and trends within the industry," said Earl Reynolds, Chaparral’s president and COO.

"John's experience from an investment banking and upstream E&P [exploration and production] finance perspective made him the perfect choice to lead this new team," Reynolds added.

Wehrle has a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Manitoba.

Most recently, Winchester was vice president of drilling operations for Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK), the company said. Winchester also worked at Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC), Winmill Petroleum, Chevron USA and Gulf Oil, Chaparral said.

He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the International Association of Drilling Contractors, the American Petroleum Institute and the American Association of Drilling Engineers, the company added.

"With the retirement of our senior drilling executive in July, Chaparral was challenged with bringing in a highly talented and experienced individual to lead our growing drilling program," Reynolds said.

He added, "David brings more than 30 years of onshore experience to our organization and his vast regional knowledge and extensive drilling and safety expertise in multiple basins make him an excellent addition to our team."

Winchester has a master of science degree in petroleum engineering and a law degree from the University of Oklahoma, the company said.

Oklahoma City-based Chaparral Energy LLC explores and produces domestic natural gas and oil.